Six international humanitarian workers were murdered in an Israeli strike, and their bodies were transferred from Gaza to Egypt on Wednesday for their return, according to a security source. Israel was met with a wave of criticism following their killings.
The Israeli military killed seven staff of the US-based food charity World Central Kitchen on Monday in an attack that UN chief Antonio Guterres labelled “unconscionable” and “an inevitable result of the way the war is being conducted”.
According to a security source who asked to remain anonymous, the bodies of the six international employees who were killed along with a Palestinian coworker were transported in ambulances to the Rafah crossing into Egypt, where they were given to officials of their various nations.
Israel’s armed forces chief Herzi Halevi called the attack a “grave mistake”, which he blamed on night-time “misidentification”, adding in a video message that “we are sorry for the unintentional harm to the members of WCK”.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, promised that the “tragic case” will be looked into “right to the end,” while President Isaac Herzog offered his “sincere apologies and deep sorrow.”
The seven fatalities increased the pressure on Israel, whose assault since the October 7 Hamas offensive has resulted in widespread civilian losses and destruction in Gaza, where the UN warns that the 2.4 million-person population is in danger of starvation.
US President Joe Biden said he was “outraged and heartbroken” by the deaths and charged that Israel “has not done enough to protect aid workers trying to deliver desperately needed help to civilians”.
